After Sherri Papini, Keith Papini’s then-wife, went for an afternoon jog near her home in Redding, California, in early November 2016, she appeared to have disappeared without a trace. The woman only showed up nearly three weeks after the man panicked and stopped looking for her. But in a bizarre turn of events, authorities found out that Sherri’s claim of being kidnapped was not true; Rather, it was just an elaborate deception that she had concocted. The ABC News-produced documentary 20/20: The Vanishing Act focuses on what happened and how it impacted the lives of those involved. If you’ve been wondering where Keith might be right now, we’re going to fill you in on what we know about him.
Who exactly is this Keith Papini?
In 2009, Keith Papini married Sherri, and the couple eventually welcomed two children into the world: a son and a girl. Although November 2, 2016 started like any other day for the Papinis, the day quickly took a tragic turn for the family. When Sherri didn’t pick up her kids from daycare, Keith immediately started looking for her. So Keith used the Find my iPhone application to track down her phone and headphones in Redding. At the moment he had the impression that the cell phone had been left there, which struck him as odd. Despite this, Keith reported a missing person for Sherri that same evening.
After some time had passed, Keith remarked, “To know that she didn’t pick up our kids — there’s no way that’s going to happen.” It doesn’t matter if she loses her phone; There’s no way in hell she won’t pick up our kids at the time she normally would. Although he received a text message from Sherri first thing in the morning, he didn’t get around to replying until the afternoon of the same day. Keith was under the impression that she had been kidnapped, and he went on to say, “Anyone who knows my wife knows that there is no reason for her to leave… There is no question that she was kidnapped against her will.
Then, almost three weeks later, Sherri was spotted on a country road more than 100 miles from where she lived. It seemed like she was hurt and tied up. Keith was the one who did the first interview with Sherri because she initially refused to cooperate with the authorities. She stated that two Hispanic ladies kidnapped her and held her hostage in a closet before releasing her. She claimed the women threatened her with a gun during the kidnapping. Keith stood by his wife throughout the ordeal and remained optimistic about the possible capture of the alleged kidnappers.
Authorities, on the other hand, realized there was more to the story. In 2020, they found out that Sherri’s kidnapping had been fake; She had organized the whole thing herself and she had been living with an ex-boyfriend named James Reyes. She had disclosed to James that Keith was abusing her and she expressed a desire to break free from him. When confronted with such findings in August 2020, she categorically denied everything. The only sexual activity Sherri admitted to at the time was flirting with other men. Keith, who was present in the interview room the entire time, was stunned by the newfound information; At the beginning of the conversation, he had implied that Sherri was unfaithful.
Also Read: Where is Sherri Papini? Is she under arrest?
Where can I find Keith Papini right now?
Sherri Papini was taken into custody in March 2022, and in April of that year she pleaded guilty to the federal charges against her. On the day of her arrest, Keith and she went their separate ways, and he didn’t file for divorce until April 2022. After a marriage that lasted over a decade, he filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences and demanded sole custody of their two children, who were then 9 and 7 years old. That being said, Keith wanted full ownership of all her possessions and requested that Sherri only allow the visit under supervision.
Keith stated the following in the documents he filed for the divorce: “Now that I have learned the truth as reflected in the settlement agreement she reached with the US Attorney’s Office in Sacramento, I must act decisively, to protect my children from their mother’s trauma and bring stability and calm to their lives.” Since then, he has made the decision to avoid publicity and instead focus on his and his wife’s roles as parents to their son and daughter . Keith, who currently resides in Mountain Gate, California, has been striving to move forward in his life ever since.
Sherri Papini – Procedural law and order
Sherri Papini was taken into custody by the FBI on March 3, 2022 on suspicion that she lied to federal officials and staged her own kidnapping to spend time with her ex-boyfriend away from her current husband and family. Papini entered a plea deal, admitting she was the mastermind behind the forgery about six weeks after her arrest for the crime.
She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $300,000 fine for her crime in September 2022.
Sherri Papini – Media Coverage
Papini’s alleged kidnapping and subsequent disappearance were prominent national news stories at the time, appearing on programs such as Good Morning America, 20/20, True Crime Daily, MSNBC, NBC Evening News, Inside Edition, ABC Evening News, The Today Show , The Daily Mail, Primetime Justice on HLN, Us Weekly, Fox News and the cover of People magazine.
After the story was discovered to be fabricated, it received additional national media coverage including ABC Evening News, CBS Mornings, Good Morning America, NBC News, CNBC, Inside Edition, USA Today, Court TV, People Magazine and The Today Show . The Papini case has been the focus of a range of media, including an episode of Dateline NBC entitled “The Curious Case of Sherri Papini”, Reelz Investigates: Sherri Papini and HLN Investigates “Runaway Mom: The Sherri Papini Story”. In addition, the Papini case has been discussed in a variety of true crime podcasts.
READ ALSO: Dateline: Is Sherri Papini Going To Jail? Where is she now?